Thursday, September 26, 2013

Stop Cavities Chew Gum

People want to know-What can I do to prevent cavities? Well, there is the brushing and flossing of teeth. That's kind of obvious though. There is eating candy. I know this sounds counter intuitive, Even crazy. If the candy has Xylitol as a sweetener though, then eat away. Xylitol prevents decay and slows down the progress sometimes even reversing a cavity that is already present. First off what is Xylitol? It is a sweetener derived from fibers of many fruits and vegetables, and can be extracted from various berries, oats, and mushrooms, as well as fibrous material such as corn husks and sugar cane bagasse, and birch. It has 33% less calories than sugar and is the only sweetener that reduces decay, remineralizes tooth, and helps prevent ear aches. If an expecting mother eats it regularly the child has a lower rate of cavities. It has no deleterious effect on the developing baby. It is best as a hard candy but can be chewed in a gum. It has been studied extensively and shows no side effects in clinical doses. Children are more than happy to eat it. It has no problems with long term use. It is pretty much a win- win, which is a rare thing in dentistry.